Semihandmade: Custom Doors and Drawer Fronts For IKEA Kitchens

If you followed along with Faith's kitchen renovation, you already know about Semihandmade, the LA-based company that makes custom fronts to fit IKEA kitchens. She said ordering from them was "the single best decision" she made through her entire kitchen renovation process. High praise indeed! If you're new to this company, here's what you need to know:

In sum, Semihandmade provides custom fronts specifically designed to fit IKEA's modular kitchens. This means that you can buy a budget IKEA kitchen — the cabinets, feet, hardware, etc — but finish it with fully custom doors, drawer fronts, and panels from Semihandmade for an upscale look at a fraction of the price. It's the best of both worlds!

Here's how it works: when you've designed your IKEA kitchen online or in the store, send the plans to Semihandmade. They'll send you bids based on your chosen door style and material, and once you've agreed on something, you can order your IKEA kitchen (sans any doors) while Semihandmade creates custom, perfectly-fitted fronts. That's what is says on their website, and Faith confirms that's pretty much exactly how it worked:

I worked with the Semihandmade owner John McDonald to plan out and order drawer fronts, doors, side panels, and filler pieces for my IKEA kitchen plan. I sent him the IKEA kitchen plan I made and he gave me a list and a quote of everything the kitchen needed. It was super simple, and the results are absolutely stunning. I even got cut-outs instead of hardware handles on most of the drawers, just like I wanted.

See here for their pricing notes. In general, prices for their veneer fronts start at about 50% higher than IKEA's Abstrakt line. But in comparison to a fully customized kitchen, you're likely to save upwards of 30-40%.